We caught up with the Aussie born, London based Personal Trainer / Instagram babe, Shona Vertue, to find out her philosophy on combining a unique combination of Strength Training, Flexibility and Meditation whilst creating her first book The Vertue Method, and how she manages to keep her 162k followers on Instagram so intrigued.

What is your coaching philosophy?

Every single body is different - there is no one size fits all - as a coach I feel my job is to provide people with the tools to become more in touch with what their body needs to feel stronger, fitter and more flexible; that is why I created the Vertue Method template.

What is the Vertue Method?

The Vertue Method is an approach to fitness and health that incorporates my experience as an elite gymnast, yoga teacher, personal trainer and lover of strong glutes. It combines dynamic flexibility drills along with kettle bell weighted high intensity circuits, glute activation and soothing meditation. A Vertue Method workout will have you feeling both sweaty and serene, uplift both in the soul and butt.

What are the benefits of mixing Strength, flexibility and meditation together?

In addition to this, we also need require peace and clarity in the mind, something that meditation can provide. From a physiological perspective meditation, can stimulate the parasympathetic nervous system which boosts the body’s ability to recover after workouts.

What advice would you give to a beginner?

Choose quality over quantity - one safely executed workout is so much more beneficial to your body than 5, poorly performed intense workouts. If you pay attention to correct alignment in the beginning, you won't have to unlearn poor movement habits and you won't be as likely to injure yourself.

You are so many people’s fitness inspiration, who is yours?

Oh, thank you!

I have a huge list that is VERY difficult to narrow down, Misty Copeland - an African American Prima Ballerina, Bethany Hamilton a surfer who survived a shark attack, and despite losing her arm is still a world champion, Dr. Bret Contreras for his brain and his glutes and Michael Jordan although he is a retired Basket Ball player now, he was such an inspiration to me during my hardest and most intense years competing as a gymnast.

Give me three essential exercises you suggest for strength training and why are these in your top three?

Squat - because we do this movement every time we get in and out of a chair, sit on the toilet or groove to old school hip hop - it's imperative for our functionality that it's both strong and stable.

Lunge - because again, a strong lunge will not only help you to develop great legs, it's also important for a healthy gait (running motion).

Weighted Hip Thrusts - because these strengthen the glutes more effectively than just squats and dead lifts alone. Strong Gluteals are imperative for effective biomechanics in the human body (and curves always look sexy).

(Obviously, a push up and push up would make a balanced programme, but alas, you only gave me three!)

What does balance mean to you?

Balance is a very enigmatic concept because it changes from person to person, making it quite hard to define, however to me means paying attention to the needs of your body, mind and soul. Sometimes that means training hard in the gym (for the body) and other times it means slowly devouring a freshly made chocolate croissant (for the soul).

What advice would you give someone hoping to turn their passion into reality?

Patience is a Vertue ;) or is it Virtue... ? Patience is an acknowledgement that true quality takes time and if you rush things, you sacrifice that quality. This can leave you feeling empty and potentially ruin your passion. Take things one step at a time and remember that if it's truly a passion, you have your life to develop and manifest it.

When did you decide to start blogging your journey?

I don't really consider myself a blogger to be honest. I'm a Personal Trainer and Yoga Teacher that enjoys to write and share the knowledge that I've learned over the years. Blogging gives me a chance to do that but it certainly wasn't my passion. My passion is changing people’s lives through health and wellness.

What can we expect from you for 2017?

My Book! The Vertue Method & 28 day reset plan.

My Vertue Method Workout Classes - at the New Balance Store in Oxford Circus starting March 7th (they are free!)

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